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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23607091">To Build A Home</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekrest/pseuds/seekrest'>seekrest</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Maybe In Another Universe [10]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(well not yet but they're gonna be), Angst with a Happy Ending, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Falling In Love, Idiots in Love, Inspired by Life As We Know It, Light Angst, Minor Character Death, Not Canon Compliant, Protective Michelle Jones, Protective Peter Parker, but not minor in my HEART, they're trying their best, two idiots and a baby, unrealistic depiction of the legal system</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 15:14:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,687</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23607091</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekrest/pseuds/seekrest</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Stop hogging the baby, Parker.” She says, watching as Peter rolls his eyes dramatically as he bounces EJ up and down. </p><p>“Stop pretending like you like babies, Michelle.” Peter snaps back, Michelle frowning as she stands and extends her hands out.</p><p>“I don’t need to like babies, I just like the one. You always do this, always think that you’re the only one who loves EJ when—“</p><p> “Guys, guys, come on," Ned interjects, "It’s a party. For EJ, you know. The baby you’re currently fighting about.”</p><p>Michelle presses her lips together, Betty walking up and taking EJ out of Peter’s hands as she says, “You guys are gonna wake up someday and realize just how perfect you are for each other.”</p><p>Michelle rolls her eyes, hearing Peter’s scoff before shooting him a withering look.</p><p>“Please. I’d sooner fly to mars before I’d ever think about being with him.”</p><p>—</p><p>Life As We Know It AU</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Michelle Jones/Peter Parker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Maybe In Another Universe [10]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1711183</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>126</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>160</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatieThelie/gifts">KatieThelie</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Happy birthday Katie!!!! </p><p>Sorry (not sorry) for the misdirection hehehe</p><p>Hope you enjoy ;)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Say happy birthday EJ!”</p><p>“Happy birthday EJ.” Peter and Michelle both say with gritted teeth, Michelle feeling the tension emanating off of him as they huddled as close as they could physically bear while Betty continued to snap a thousand pictures.</p><p>“You guys are so <em> cute </em>.” She squeals, waving for Ned to walk over as Peter sighed.</p><p>“Did you take the picture?” He asks, Betty barely nodding in affirmation. It’s enough for the two of them to immediately separate, Peter grabbing EJ as Michelle rubbed her hands on her jeans - feeling the slight stickiness that somehow seemed to always follow babies as her palms met the fabric. </p><p>“Dude, I love this. I knew that color was great, babe.” Ned almost coos, Michelle making a face until EJ starts to babble, the aggravation that she felt about being around Peter melting as his little hands waved around. </p><p>It instantly flares again when Peter stands up, not so subtly nudging her away.</p><p>“Stop hogging the baby, Parker.” She says, watching as Peter rolls his eyes dramatically as he bounces EJ up and down. </p><p>“Stop pretending like you like babies, Michelle.” Peter snaps back, Michelle frowning as she stands and extends her hands out.</p><p>“I don’t need to like babies, I just like the one. You always do this, always think that you’re the only one who loves EJ when—“</p><p>“<em> I’m </em> not the one who skipped out on his birth because I was too grossed out by the miracle of—“</p><p>“Please, that’s such a <em> guy </em>thing to say,” Michelle interjects, seeing Betty’s amused expression out of the corner of her eye as she says, “you’re not the one who had to push a nine pound baby out of their vagina.”</p><p>Peter snorts, EJ giggling at the sound as he says, “Not like you’ll ever have that life experience anyway. What happened with your last relationship? Oh that’s right, I don’t think you’ve actually ever had one.”</p><p>Michelle fumes, furrowing her eyebrows as she says, “Better than your dumbass. Someone can just look at you and you’ll act like you’re madly in love with them. What happened with Gwen again? Proposed and she said <em> no? </em>”</p><p>Peter flinches at that, going to say something else until Ned intervenes - a forced smile on his face as he says, “Guys, guys, come on. It’s a <em> party </em>. For EJ, you know. The baby you’re currently fighting about.”</p><p>Michelle presses her lips together, Betty walking up and taking EJ out of Peter’s hands as she says, “You guys are gonna wake up someday and realize just how perfect you are for each other.”</p><p>Michelle rolls her eyes, hearing Peter’s scoff before shooting him a withering look.</p><p>“Please. I’d sooner fly to mars before I’d ever think about being with him.”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Michelle didn’t like Peter Parker, not from the moment she’d met him - a failed blind date in more ways than one, especially since Peter hadn’t even bothered to show up to the thing until an hour later, the only reason that Michelle had stayed as long as she did as a gesture of goodwill towards Betty.</p><p>“He’s a good guy, MJ. You’d love him,” her best friend had pleaded, even if Michelle had argued against it hours later, still seething from how annoying of a conversationalist he’d been. </p><p>“You know Betty, I love you but I’m not ever, <em> ever </em> going to do that again. I want you to know that. I love you, but I don’t ever want to see him again.” She’d said, thinking of how aggravating the entire night had been.</p><p>Not only had he been late, but he was fidgety and nervous - constantly glancing around like there was somewhere else he’d rather be. Michelle knew that on a better night she would’ve been more engaging, more likely to create some kind of conversation between the two of them but she was already pissed off - a long day made longer by his lateness and utter lack of attention to what they were doing. </p><p>Michelle should’ve known that the universe wouldn’t be so kind to her, learning later from Betty that Peter wasn’t just some random guy that she’d met at work but was her new boyfriend Ned’s <em> best friend </em> - something that instantly filled Michelle with dread.</p><p>Betty liked Ned and liked him a <em> lot </em> - gushing about him while Michelle put her on speakerphone, knowing that Betty’s lack of family made Michelle the only person she could really talk to. They’d only been dating for a few months but Betty already sounded smitten, talking about their future together in the kind of cliche way that for anyone else, would’ve made Michelle roll her eyes.</p><p>Betty deserved the best things in life and Ned seemed like a good enough guy from all she could gather.</p><p>But then, his judgement had to have been clouded if he was friends with Peter Parker - a flake in every sense of the word, someone that Michelle knew she could never rely on.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“EJ, sweetie, you’re the person I love most in the world,” Michelle says with a smile, holding him up above her head as Betty grinned.</p><p>“Dude, he’s gonna blow if you keep doing that. He’s in a puking stage,” she says, Michelle rolling her eyes as she gently bounces him up and down.</p><p>“Nah he loves his Aunt MJ, doesn’t he?” Michelle says, refusing to degrade herself to baby talk - even if something about being around EJ made her heart swell three times as big. </p><p>Michelle had never been the person to imagine a white picket fence, never daydreamed about her wedding or fairytale love. But Betty had been - her best friend since she was six years old, Betty being the sister she’d never had and the person she trusted most in the world.</p><p>Betty had found an impossible kind of happiness with Ned and EJ, the squealing baby in Michelle’s arms - was living proof that maybe for some people, storybook endings could exist. </p><p>“Speaking of, why didn’t Harry come? I thought you liked him.”</p><p>Michelle grimaces, EJ babbling incoherently as she says, “Nah we ended that a few weeks ago, wasn’t working out.”</p><p>“What happened?” Betty asks with an eyebrow raise, Michelle adjusting her grip on EJ as she shrugs.</p><p>“I don’t know, just didn’t see us on that long march towards death together.” </p><p>“Oh. I thought you really liked him,” Betty says evenly, Michelle glancing at her to see the neutral expression on her face as Michelle sighs. </p><p>“I liked him <em>fine</em>, Betty. He’s a good guy, I just,” she shakes her head, “we just weren’t good together.”</p><p>“You say that about everyone you date.”</p><p>“I say that because it’s always true, B,” Michelle says with an eye roll, wishing that Betty would drop the topic of her love life for once. </p><p>She was endlessly grateful that Betty had found her own kind of happiness in the suburban life that her and Ned had - but it wasn’t the lifestyle that Michelle wanted. </p><p>Michelle had dreams, gunning for years to be a war zone reporter and in her <em>wildest</em> dreams - a Pulitzer prize winner. That kind of lifestyle wasn’t for everyone and while Harry had been endlessly supportive, an objectively great guy - he wanted something that Michelle wouldn’t ever be able to give him.</p><p>A family, stability - the kind of quiet love between two people that Harry's own parents had, that Betty and Ned seemingly shared. </p><p>It wasn’t something that Michelle believed in for herself nor was something she really wanted - especially the idea of bringing a child into a world that in Michelle’s opinion, was too fucked up beyond belief. </p><p>“Anyway, we’re still friends so that’s something. Way better than how Brad and I ended up,” Michelle says with a frown, EJ’s giggling enough to lighten her up - both her and Betty laughing as he starts to clap his hands. </p><p>“Someday MJ, you’re gonna find a guy that’s gonna make you change your mind.”</p><p>Michelle bit her tongue, knowing that Betty didn’t mean the words as an insult even if that’s how they sounded - as if there would be anyone who could actually change her ideals about life and love and children. </p><p>Love wasn’t something she didn’t believe in - she saw it, in the way Ned looked at Betty, in the way Harry had let her go - but it wasn’t something that Michelle believed she was destined for, not with the kind of life she eventually wanted to live.</p><p>And kids - as much as she loved EJ - wasn’t something she ever wanted for herself, glad that at the end of the day, she’d get to give EJ back to Ned and Betty and head back to her quiet apartment, to relax and be content without a care in the world.</p><p>“Come on, I’m starving. We better get back inside before Peter eats all your food again.” Michelle says with a smirk, Betty making a face. </p><p>“Peter’s really not that bad of a guy, MJ. I wish you two would get along.” </p><p>Michelle rolled her eyes, bouncing EJ on her hip as she says, “Can’t always get what you want in life, B. But I love you, isn’t that enough?”</p><p>Betty laughed, enough to make Michelle smile - not realizing then it would be the last time she’d hear that sound. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Michelle let the soapy water rush over her, closing her eyes as she leaned back. </p><p>The birthday party had been exhausting - having to endure the constant nagging questions she got about her relationship or lack thereof from Betty’s nosy neighbors and friends, rolling her eyes once again when Peter had to duck out before they even cut the cake - running off like he always did and exasperated that Betty and Ned were so okay with it. </p><p>It didn’t make sense to her, why they let him stick around - not when everything she knew about Peter was frustrating to a fault. </p><p>Mediocre grades from ESU. Never able to land any kind of stable job, jumping from part-time gig to part-time gig, even if he had a photography job with one of the trashiest tabloids that Michelle ever thinks could’ve existed - an extra notch against him in her laundry list of reasons he annoyed her. </p><p>Objectively, she knew he couldn’t <em> really </em> be that bad - especially now knowing what she did of Ned, a guy entirely too kind hearted and good that if she didn’t know Betty - would think was made up. </p><p>But Michelle had a gut feeling for these kind of things, something about Peter that bugged her that she couldn't explain - pushing the thought of him away as she settled into her bath, going to grab her glass of wine only for her phone to buzz.</p><p>She turns her head, glancing at it for a second only to see that it’s Peter - rolling her eyes and ignoring the call and closing her eyes before settling back into her bath. </p><p>Michelle was trying to <em> relax </em> and any conversation with him would be the opposite of that - Peter having the kind of nervous energy that she despised in people. </p><p>Only for the phone to buzz again, Michelle snapping her eyes open and looking incredulously at the fact that it’s Peter again, quickly drying her hands and accepting the call as she says, “What?”</p><p>She’s instantly thrown off by the sound of something almost like a sob on the other line, leaning forward as she asks, “Peter?”</p><p>“Michelle? Uh, it’s Peter. Peter Parker.”</p><p>“Yeah, I know who this is. What’s wrong?” She asks, a low sense of dread building in the background - wondering what could possibly have him call her so late at night, much less sounding like he did. </p><p>Of all the years that they’d begrudgingly known each other, Peter never willingly contacted her - the two of them only interacting when they had to because of Ned or Betty.</p><p>Michelle waits, listening to Peter’s shaky breathing on the other line as he says, “Michelle, it’s-- you need to come down to the police station on 45th.”</p><p>Her heart skips a beat, her mind blanking even if there’s a small voice in the back of her mind whispering a truth she doesn’t want to face - pressing forward as she says, “Why? What’s-- what happened?”</p><p>“It’s Ned and Betty,” Peter says, Michelle clutching the phone tighter as she inhales sharply, willing herself to listen. </p><p>“What happened?” She asks, but she already knows the answer - the sinking feeling in her stomach growing stronger and stronger as Peter lets out a sob. </p><p>“They’re gone.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Michelle hated funerals. </p><p>She didn’t have much experience with them, aside from grandparents she barely remembered, an aunt and maybe a cousin - she was too little to really remember the days aside from how itchy her stockings had felt and how uncomfortable the dress she was forced to wear was. </p><p>But even then, Michelle knew she hated them. </p><p>For someone who had orchestrated her life towards becoming a war zone reporter, death - she found - was something she wasn’t prepared for, not by a long shot. </p><p>Death was something that happened to people who had already lived long, fulfilling lives - not to twenty-six year olds who’d barely gotten their lives together, only had just barely bought the house of their dreams and just celebrated the first birthday of their first, and now only, child.  </p><p>It wasn’t fair, in a way that Michelle already believed that the world wasn’t and yet even made worse - grinding her teeth together as someone passed her by, clutching a drink in her hand like it was a lifeline. </p><p>The funeral for Betty and Ned was miserable, Michelle in an endless loop of wanting to cry so bad that her throat hurt and her head throbbed - even if a lifetime of trying to stuff down her emotions worked against her, making her eyes twitch anytime someone came up to her to talk about their good memories of either Betty or Ned.</p><p>Now standing in their beautiful home, filled with people and yet devoid of the two people who should be there in the first place, Michelle was sure her resolve was going to crumble. </p><p>She snuck a glance towards Peter, currently holding EJ in a vise grip in his arms - his eyes red from crying and his cheeks puffy as he gently rocked him back and forth. Peter was always like that, wearing his emotions on his sleeve - something that always bothered her though now, Michelle couldn’t bring herself to criticize him for it. </p><p>The night that Betty and Ned died felt now like a blur - rushing out of her apartment, clothes haphazardly put together, only to see Peter who looked just as he did now sans EJ - immediately pulling her into a hug as he cried.</p><p>Michelle didn’t cry in front of people as a rule but her eyes had watered and her throat had closed up as Peter wrapped his arms around her, her mind finally grasping the truth of what Peter had said over the phone. </p><p>The policewoman who told them the news was nice enough, the reason the two of them were called over any of Ned’s extended family being that they were not only listed as emergency contacts - but were for some inexplicable reason, listed as EJ’s guardians. </p><p>It didn’t make sense to Michelle nor Peter. </p><p>Betty didn’t have much of a family except for an aging uncle who was currently trying to flirt with one of the neighbors, the oxygen tank he was attached to being meaningless for him.</p><p>But Ned had a <em> massive </em> family - his parents were gone but Ned seemingly had endless aunts and uncles and cousins from all the people coming in and out of the house - a family that would have no problem taking in EJ if given the opportunity. </p><p>Yet the thought of that made something in her heart clench, gripping her cup even tighter at the thought of EJ being sent off to live with anyone else but them - no matter how logical or rational it was. </p><p>EJ was their family but he was also <em> theirs </em>. </p><p>Even if one of the few stipulations that Betty and Ned had put in their will wasn’t just that the custody was to be given to the two of them, but the two of them <em> together </em> - thinking back to what the conversation with their lawyer had been the day after Ned and Betty had died. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“Wait… <em> what </em>?” Michelle asked, leaning forward as Peter’s eyes bulged out - gripping the side of the table as the lawyer waited patiently for them to take the news in. </p><p>“As I said before, in the unlikely event that they should both die, Edward and Betty Leeds chose you two as the guardians for Edward James Leeds Jr.”</p><p>“This is-- I mean, we’re not--” Peter stammers, glancing between Michelle and the lawyer as she quickly says, “We’re not together. I mean they tried but it didn’t--”</p><p>Michelle makes a face, Peter shooting her a look as she amends, “Listen, Matt? It’s Matt right?” We’re not together.” </p><p>“I know this is overwhelming and believe me, I tried to advise them against it,” Matt says with a small smile, something that stirs up something Michelle can’t name in her chest, “but there are options. You <em> can </em> say no cause this is a big deal. This is a child, a big commitment. One that has to be made with the child’s best interests at heart.” </p><p>Peter exhaled out through his mouth, Michelle grinding her teeth as she stared at Matt - fingers tapping against the table until his mouth twitched, wondering if he was sensitive to the sound. </p><p>“What if,” Peter begins, Michelle eyeing him carefully, “one of us on our own takes EJ? Like… by ourselves, chose to honor Ned and Betty’s wishes.” </p><p>“Or both of us,” Michelle says, glaring at Peter, “we both could do it.” </p><p>“Well they named you,” Matt responds, “so it’d be as simple as me setting up a court hearing to grant you temporary custody and that’s it. Now as far as finances, the estate will cover the mortgage but that’s about it. They bought the house as an investment after Ned’s mother passed away. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” </p><p>Matt sighs, leaning back, “I know this is a lot to take in and neither of you have to decide right now. But it <em> is </em>something the two of you have to consider. In the meantime, I’d suggest moving in to the house--”</p><p>“Wait--”</p><p>“We can’t--”</p><p>Matt puts up a hand, a gentle smile on his face before saying, “It’s recommended for EJ, right now. To have a familiar environment, all things considered.”</p><p>Neither Michelle or Peter answered as Matt spoke up again, “We’ll meet again after the funeral to discuss what happens next.”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Michelle sighed, pushing away the memory as she glanced around the overflowing fridge - Peter saying goodbye to the last of the funeral guests. </p><p>It was filled with casseroles and other kinds of dishes that Michelle didn’t have the stomach for, knowing that it was some kind of instinct for people to give food after someone died but not quite understanding it. </p><p>She hadn’t felt hungry since she’d first heard the news even if a part of her knew she should eat <em> something </em> , now that she was practically the legal guardian of an actual <em> baby </em>.</p><p><em> What the fuck were you thinking, B? </em> Michelle thinks to herself, gritting her teeth as she swallows down the tears she can’t bring herself to cry. She grabs some power juice from the fridge that Betty used to buy specifically for her because she liked it, unable to bring herself to touch anything of theirs just yet even if she knew that they wouldn’t be back to use them. </p><p>She closes the fridge, unscrewing the bottle cap before walking to the living room - Peter shoving yet another sub sandwich into his mouth, one leg curled up under him as he glanced at something on his phone.</p><p>“Can you not do that right now?” She asks, mildly disgusted at how gross he was when he ate - much less that anytime he wasn’t holding EJ, he’d been shoving food into his mouth all day, “You’re gonna get crumbs all over the couch?”</p><p>Peter looks down apologetically, swallowing down the food in his mouth before saying, “Sorry, I’m just,” he waves the phone around, “trying to get a list together.”</p><p>“A list? Of what?” Michelle asks, glancing over to the pack and play that EJ was sleeping in - wondering if he even knew how much his life had changed in less than a week.</p><p>“Things we’re gonna need. The fridge is stocked and it looks like we have enough diapers but,” Peter shoves the rest of the sandwich into his mouth, Michelle wrinkling her nose as he garbles out, “We gotta figure out a sleep schedule and--”</p><p>“How are you <em> eating </em> right now?” Michelle asks, frowning as Peter just chews noisily, “And a sleep schedule? Why do we need a sleep schedule?”</p><p>“For EJ,” Peter says with a dumb look on his face, “It’s important for babies to have some kind of routine or at least,” he looks at his phone screen once more, “it’s what this baby app says to do.”</p><p>Michelle sighs, plopping down on the armchair across from Peter as she rests her elbows on her knees, “We’re not cut out for this. Did Ned ever talk to you about this? Or Betty?”</p><p>Peter swallows, putting his phone down, “Nope.”</p><p>“This isn’t the kind of thing you just <em> forget </em> to mention, you know?” Michelle rambles, waving her juice around, “This is… this is fucked up, Parker.”</p><p>“We’ll-- we’ll just figure it out. We’ll make a plan, set a schedule and--” Peter begins only for Michelle to laugh.</p><p>He frowns, Michelle leaning back in the chair as she says, “Are you kidding me? <em> You </em>? Make a plan? Peter, I don’t think you’ve been on time for something a single day in your life. How the fuck do you think you’re gonna be able to handle a kid?”</p><p>Peter looks offended at that, opening his mouth to say something before Michelle continues, “And with what that--that hack of lawyer said, Murdock or whatever? He wants us to <em> live </em> together? In their house? Where am I supposed to sleep? And you?” </p><p>Michelle takes a long swig of her juice, Peter staring her down before she brings the bottle down and says, “Face it, Parker. This is bullshit.”</p><p>“Yeah well, <em> life’s </em> bullshit sometimes, Michelle,” Peter says tersely, his tone severe enough that it gives Michelle pause - wondering if he was speaking from experience, all too suddenly remembering how little she actually knows about him. </p><p>He sighs, closing his eyes before pinching the bridge of his nose, hearing the unmistakable waver in his voice once again as he says, “But it is what it is. Ned and Betty are,” Peter swallows, bringing his hand down as he locks eyes with her, “they’re gone okay? And we’re it for EJ. I don’t… I don’t know about you but I can’t-- I don’t know if I can stomach him going with anyone else.”</p><p>Michelle doesn’t get the chance to answer, EJ having woken up from his nap - the two of them both springing action.</p><p>“It’s okay, it’s gonna be okay,” Peter says soothingly, reaching for EJ and picking him out of the playpen - Michelle hovering beside him as EJ continues to cry.</p><p>“Let me take him,” Michelle says, Peter shaking his head slightly.</p><p>“It’s fine, Michelle. I know you don’t--”</p><p>“Don’t start this shit with me again, Parker,” Michelle snaps, feeling the hot tears in her eyes as she says, “Give me the baby.”</p><p>There must be something in her expression that stops him, Peter bouncing EJ for a second before handing him over, Michelle immediately bringing EJ into her arms. </p><p>“Hey buddy, you okay?” Michelle says, her voice dropping an octave lower than it usually was as EJ continues to cry, running her hand across his back as she bounces in the same way that Peter did. </p><p>EJ snuggles into her neck, Michelle feeling the snot and the tears all over her but unable to bring herself to care - any idea that EJ was unaware of what had happened being completely removed since that had been the very thing he used to do when Betty soothed him. </p><p>It was instantaneous, the overwhelming sense of loss settling over her - her chin trembling slightly as Peter continued to stare at her, a look on his face that Michelle doesn’t recognize. </p><p>She closes her eyes, turning away from Peter both to give her time to swallow back the tears and to try and soothe EJ - doing a walk around the room as he continues to cry. </p><p>This wasn’t anything that Michelle had ever planned and clearly, it wasn’t Peter’s.</p><p>Every rational part of Michelle tells her that this is a bad idea - that EJ deserved to be with people more responsible than they were, or who already had children.</p><p>But even if she had never wanted children and still didn’t, a part of Michelle knew that she would rather die than have EJ be sent off anywhere else - unable to fathom the possibility of giving up the only part of Betty she still had left in the world.</p><p>Betty and Ned had chosen them for a reason, trusted them with the most precious thing Michelle has ever held. </p><p>It didn't matter how impossible it was or that she was supposed to somehow manage doing this with Peter--</p><p>There was no way Michelle was ever going to give him up.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yes there's more chapters. Shh. Don't be loud.</p><p>It’s just who I am as a person™️</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next two weeks pass by in what’s both the longest and shortest weeks of Michelle’s life. </p><p>The court date about their impending “parenthood” as Peter called it was set but until then they were stuck in a weird kind of limbo, Matt arguing to CPS that since they were named guardians that they would be allowed the chance to care for EJ until it was made official.</p><p>Michelle didn’t know the details or how the hell he actually managed it, but she didn’t care - glad that at the end of the day, EJ was home with the two of them.</p><p>Though home - Michelle found - was a loosely defined concept. Considering the apartment she was in was on a month to month lease, letting it go wasn't much of a logistical issue. She wasn’t sure of Peter’s situation but didn’t care, more concerned with the practicality of what it meant to actually move in with someone that not even three weeks ago, she could barely stand to be in the same room in.</p><p>Peter for his part, kept his complaints to himself - moving in all his worldly belongings into the living room - both of them dancing awkwardly around Betty and Ned’s room.</p><p>“You should take it,” Peter said, gesturing towards the bedroom neither of them had really ventured into, “it’s farther away from EJ’s room so—“</p><p>“Can you stop doing that?” Michelle snapped, frustrated as she brushed some hair out of her face. </p><p>“Stop doing what?”</p><p>“Acting like I don’t— I don’t care about EJ. It wasn’t funny before and it’s sure as hell not funny now,” Michelle says, watching Peter press his lips firmly together.</p><p>“I didn’t say you <em> don’t </em> care about him—“</p><p>“Then what?” Michelle sighed, feeling hot and sticky from moving in boxes all day - doubly annoyed because Peter had finished moving in all of his stuff and was now helping her with hers, yet looked like he hadn't even broken a sweat. “Why do you seem to think I don’t want to be around him?”</p><p>Peter looks mildly uncomfortable for a beat before his expression changes, pursing his lips as he said, “I mean, you don’t even like kids.”</p><p>“So?”</p><p>Peter laughs at that, only further setting off Michelle’s annoyance as he continues, “So… you don’t like kids and yet you expect me to believe you actually want to— to do this? You won’t even listen to me when I talk about scheduling—“</p><p>“Enough with the damn schedules, Parker,” Michelle interjects, waving a hand around as she says, “No, I <em> don’t </em> like kids but I love Betty.”</p><p>They stop - Michelle realizing what she’d said the same moment Peter did, clearing her throat as she amends, “<em> Loved </em>. I loved her... like a sister,” Michelle whispers, “and I’ll be damned if EJ goes with anyone else alright?”</p><p>“I know,” Peter says, “I just thought—“</p><p>“That’s just it, you don’t think,” Michelle says again, Peter looking rightfully chided as she sighs, picking up another box, “Whatever, I’m not taking their room.”</p><p>“Where are you going to sleep? There’s only—“ </p><p>“I’ll sleep in the office okay? It doesn’t matter,” she says with exasperation, glancing away. </p><p>“But it does, Michelle,” Peter says, Michelle looking back to him and seeing the grim expression on his face. “If we’re gonna do this… if we’re gonna live here, we have to stop tiptoeing around like they’re gonna come home any minute.” </p><p>Michelle’s heart feels like it’s leapt up to her throat, seeing the wobble of Peter’s chin as he says, “They’re not coming back.”</p><p>She stares at him for a beat before nodding, swallowing down another wave of tears that she’s tired of crying as she says, “I know. But I can’t sleep in their bedroom. Not… not yet.”</p><p>Peter just nods in return, giving her a half-smile before finally saying, “How about this-- you take the spare bedroom and I’ll sleep on the couch.”</p><p>“The <em> couch </em>?” Michelle asks incredulously, only for Peter to nod again as if it made all the sense in the world.</p><p>“Yeah I mean, it’s not like I have a lot of stuff anyway. And I have weird hours with the Bugle anyway so,” he shrugs, “it works.”</p><p>Michelle looks at him up and down before relenting - too exhausted both physically and emotionally to put up anymore of a fight.</p><p>“Okay, fine.” </p><p>Peter smiles at her, reaching down to grab the box that she knew had some old textbooks she should really get rid of - frowning as he carried it with ease and said, “Alright, you ready?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Michelle says, “I guess so.” </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“Next case: the matter of Edward James Leeds, Jr. Index 058903-01.” </p><p>“That’s us,” Matt says under his breath, nudging Peter with his white cane. Michelle adjusts her grip on EJ as he fusses, the two of them following after Matt in silence as the judge speaks. </p><p>“I’ve read your submissions along with the will and given that you two were named as the guardians, I see no reason to countermand the parent’s wishes. I hereby grant joint legal and physical custody of Edward James Leeds, Jr to Michelle Jones and Peter Parker.”</p><p>“That’s it?” Michelle asks incredulously, “You’re not gonna ask us anything? What if we were drug dealers?”</p><p>She hears Matt cough loudly and Peter’s whole body stiffen, the judge staring her down as she says, “<em> Are </em> you drug dealers?”</p><p>“No, no--definitely not,” Peter says, shooting a look towards Michelle, “Thank you ma’am, your honor. We’ll be on our way.”</p><p>The judge gives off something of a smirk before banging the gavel, Matt quickly leading them out of the courtroom. As soon as they’re past the double doors, Peter whirls around and looks at Michelle as if she’d grown another head.</p><p>“What the hell was that?”</p><p>“What?” She asks, bouncing EJ on her hip, “I can’t believe they didn’t ask us anything. What if we had been--”</p><p>“But we’re not, Michelle. Why would you even--” Peter begins, only to be cut off by Matt’s sigh.</p><p>“Save the family squabbling for later. Now, just because you have custody doesn’t mean you’re home free. You’ll be assigned a case worker from social services who will be checking up on you, making sure everything’s alright and that you two are actually fit to care for EJ.”</p><p>“Oh so that happens <em> after </em>?” Michelle asks, feeling Peter’s annoyance with her rise as Matt lets out another long-suffering sigh. </p><p>“Yes, now if you’ll excuse me,” he says, flicking his cane in his other hand, “I have other cases to attend to.”</p><p>He leaves, Michelle watching him for a second before turning to see Peter look more aggravated than she’d ever seen him.</p><p>“What were you doing?”</p><p>“What do you mean what was I doing? I don’t understand how they’re just giving away babies.”</p><p>Peter pinches the bridge of his nose, EJ squirming in Michelle’s grip as he says, “They’re not just giving away babies, they gave <em> us </em> EJ. Why do you have to make everything so difficult?”</p><p>Michelle ground her teeth, adjusting EJ once more as she stared at Peter. She wasn’t trying to make things difficult - if anything, it was the opposite.</p><p>She was terrified that there was some kind of legal loophole that they missed, the fact that EJ was so easily transferred into her and Peter’s woefully inept custody serving as just a preamble for the inevitable day that he’d be snatched away from them. </p><p>For as much as she dreaded the idea of being linked to Peter Parker any more than necessary, it all seemed too easy for EJ to be handed off to them.</p><p>In Michelle’s experience, anything that looked too good to be true usually was. </p><p>But she didn’t want to tell Peter that, especially not outside of a courtroom that had nonchalantly changed their lives forever - choosing instead to shrug her shoulders and say, “I don’t know why you’re so easily swayed, Parker. Not all of us have had everything handed to us.”</p><p>Peter rolls his eyes as Michelle walks past him, hearing him come up behind her and say, “Don’t start this shit again.”</p><p>“I’m just saying, <em> you’re </em> the one who supposedly turned down working at one of the biggest tech firms in New York so you could photographer with the <em> Bugle </em> . Must be nice to have all those options and choose <em> wrong </em>.”</p><p>“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Peter says with a huff, an edge to his voice that Michelle doesn’t care to elaborate, going to speak up again only to hear a voice call out, “Peter!”</p><p>They both turn, Peter immediately relaxing as a brunette woman comes rushing up to him - a huge smile on her face as she says, “You must be Michelle. Hi I’m May Parker, Peter’s aunt.”</p><p>“Hi it’s nice to meet you,” Michelle says, putting a hand out to shake it only for May to go in for a hug - awkwardly fumbling her hand as May wraps her arms around her and EJ. </p><p>“When Peter told me that today was the day, I tried to get off work but it--”</p><p>“It’s fine, May, really. You didn’t have to come,” Peter goes to say, only to be waved off with May’s hand. </p><p>“Of<em> course </em> I had to be here. It’s,” she gets a look on her face that Michelle can’t quite place, looking around the building as if it was familiar to her before saying, “it’s significant, making someone an official part of your family.”</p><p>A heaviness passes between Peter and May just then, Michelle’s eyes darting between the two of them as her mind races.</p><p>Admittedly in all the years she’s known Peter, she never really cared to know more about his family life - though now that she’s thinking of it, Michelle can’t ever remember a time when either he, Ned or Betty ever mentioned his parents. </p><p>Considering Michelle never really talked about her own, she didn’t blame him - though from the clear affection and love that May had for Peter, Michelle was beginning to wonder just how much of Peter Parker she didn’t know. </p><p>The spell is broken between them when Peter’s phone starts to buzz, reaching into his pocket only for his eyes to widen - shooting May a look before turning to Michelle and saying, “Um, I need to go.”</p><p>“Go? Go where?” Michelle asks, watching in confusion as his eyes dart between her and May’s. Some kind of understanding passes between them as Peter presses forward, “it’s uh, a work emergency.”</p><p>“A work--”</p><p>“Why don’t I take you and EJ to lunch? My treat, to celebrate the big day?” May cuts in smoothly, her smile disarming even if something about the frantic way Peter’s looking sets off alarm bells for Michelle. “Once everything’s settled, Peter can join us. How about that place off of 71st?” </p><p>“Sounds great, May. I’ll see you guys then,” Peter says in a hurry, pressing a kiss to her temple before turning to Michelle - looking conflicted in a way that she doesn’t understand before he turns his attention to EJ. </p><p>“See you later buddy.”</p><p>EJ just babbles at Peter, Michelle not even getting the chance say anything before Peter’s gone - rushing out of the lobby so quickly that it made her head spin. </p><p>May’s smile is warm and inviting, a gentle hand on Michelle’s arm as she says, “Shall we?”</p><p>Michelle blinks a few times, staring at her before glancing to the direction Peter had gone off to - completely bewildered at how fast he’d gone. </p><p>If this was any indication of what their new lives as fucked up pseudo-parents was, Michelle wasn’t sure they were going to make it. But she doesn’t tell that to May, forcing a smile on her face.</p><p>“Yeah, okay. Let’s go.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Peter <em>doesn’t</em> make it to lunch, as Michelle had expected. But May was immediately disarming, funny and kind in a way that made Michelle wonder how the hell someone so lovely could’ve raised someone as inconsiderate as Peter. </p><p>Michelle sighed to herself as she closed the door behind her and locked in, EJ fast asleep in her arms. Learning that May had raised Peter had been one of the most productive things about their celebratory lunch - along with the harsh truth that the reason Peter never spoke about his parents before is that he didn’t have them anymore. </p><p>Michelle’s own family was nice enough, living in a small town that she never planned to ever go back to. To find out that Peter had not only lost his parents when he was a child and his uncle when he was barely into high school made her want to call her own parents as soon as she put EJ to bed. </p><p>She does just that, talking to them longer than she has in a while - both of them completely surprised by the news that they’d inadvertently inherited a grandchild, even if Michelle hadn’t quite put the pieces together in her own mind about that. </p><p>EJ was hers - both hers and Peter’s sure - but he was really <em> Betty’s </em>. And no matter what any judge or piece of paper said, Michelle still felt like she was reeling from the loss in front of her. </p><p>She’s thrown out of her thoughts just then when she hears a noise in another part of the house, a fumbling and then a crash that makes her blood turn cold. </p><p>Michelle immediately grabs the baseball bat that her mom had given her once before she moved to the city, something that Michelle had made fun of in her head for the idea that it could serve as any kind of protection to the kind of nonsense that New Yorkers regularly got into. </p><p>But it was like a lightning rod for her now, baseball bat in one hand and cell phone in the other as she walks down the hallway - heart leaping up into her chest as she moves towards EJ’s bedroom.</p><p>She hears the sound of muttered swearing in the living room, carefully walking forward with 9-1-1 at the ready. </p><p>A distant part of her thinks it could just be Peter, though why he had disappeared for half the day and most of the evening without so much of a phone call really made her hope it was. </p><p>She was pissed - in more ways than one, that Peter had ditched the two of them for some kind of emergency that she knows couldn’t possibly be that serious, not when Peter’s hours at the Bugle were hardly something anyone could call consistent. </p><p>He was right, he definitely had weird hours - Michelle being sure that he skipped out during the night yet never staying awake long enough to confirm it. Taking care of a baby was exhausting, even with Peter’s help - though she could be glad at least that EJ spent most of his day at the absurdly expensive daycare that Betty and Ned had already enrolled him in. </p><p>Peter’s disappearance today was just part of a long-running list of things that aggravated her, Michelle thinking that for every one step they took forward, they were pushed two steps back. </p><p>Just in case it wasn’t him fumbling around, Michelle didn’t want to let her guard down - quietly moving down the hallway only to hear something of a hiss - whoever it was having moved to the kitchen and fumbling around in a drawer. </p><p>Michelle takes a deep breath, grounding herself as she turns the corner - baseball rat raised - only to falter when she sees him, her eyes widening as she took him in. </p><p>Peter turns as if she had surprised him - something that Michelle has no idea how that’s possible if what she’s seeing in front of her is true, blinking a few times to try and make sense of the scene in front of her. </p><p>Peter looks at her in shock, one hand pressed to his side and another holding what looks to be a sewing kit, remembering when Betty had mentioned her kitchen rearrangement a few weeks ago.</p><p>Yet the thing that surprised her the most wasn’t that Peter was in their kitchen looking around for a sewing kit, or the fact that he was <em> bleeding </em> - hand pressed against his side covering some kind of wound that makes Michelle’s stomach roll. </p><p>It was what he was <em> wearing </em> that made her head spin, the red from the blood creeping between his fingers intermixing with the red and blue of a suit that Michelle had never seen in person but had heard plenty of stories about in her years of living in New York. </p><p>Peter stares at her, swaying a little in place - Michelle’s mind blanking except for the three words that come to her first. </p><p>“What the <em> fuck </em>?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Clearly, this story is getting away from me. Don’t look at me.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“You have got to be fucking—“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Shhh!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Peter has the audacity to whisper to her, waving his free hand around as he winces and says, “You’ll wake EJ up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you kidding me with that shit? </span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span> are going to talk to me about keeping EJ up when you weren’t even the one who put him down?” Michelle furiously whispers, Peter wincing as he sways once again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Michelle catches herself - realizing that for the flood of complicated emotions running through her, the biggest one still being </span>
  <em>
    <span>what the fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Peter looks like he’s about to pass out - clutching his side like he was ten seconds away from bleeding out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened to you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, I’m sorry,” Peter says with a groan, “I meant to come straight to the restaurant but then--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not today,” Michelle says, waving her hand around as she takes a step forward, “What the hell happened with </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His gaze shifts from her to his side - Michelle noticing just how different the dark red of the suit and the other - </span>
  <em>
    <span>blood</span>
  </em>
  <span> - was quickly intermixing as he says, “Oh uh, you heard of Rhino?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Michelle nods dumbly, Peter smirking as he says, “He and I had a little disagreement.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Disagreement?” Michelle wants to shriek, holding herself back as Peter sways again. She moves forward on instinct, bracing her hand on his shoulder only for his eyes to widen as she says, “Whatever, this is bullshit and we </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> going to talk about this but I can’t have you bleeding out in the middle of the kitchen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I won’t. I heal fast,” Peter says with a slur, frowning when he seems to catch on to that just as Michelle does.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She rolls her eyes, lifting his free hand around her shoulder before lifting himself and saying, “Yeah well, I don’t know anything about superhero bullshit but I do know first aid and that amount of blood </span>
  <em>
    <span>outside</span>
  </em>
  <span> your body is never a good thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter winces and lets out a sharp gasp as she adjusts her hold on him, slowly walking him towards the bathroom as she says, “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up before you die on me. Don’t die though, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not… planning on it,” Peter says through gritted teeth, moving with her as Michelle’s mind starts to race.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of all the things she could’ve ever imagined, </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> would not have been the reason for why Peter was always running off in the middle of the night - half-wishing her theory that he was some kind of upscale escort had been true instead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least with that, Michelle could’ve jokingly teased him. But this? Suiting up in spandex, acting as one of the idiotic vigilantes who ran around in the middle of the night - people that Michelle willfully never put much thought into beyond random rants with people at work?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The idea of being a co-parent with the one person she disliked most in the world was already too much for Michelle to handle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was well beyond what Michelle had ever signed up for. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought… Spider-Man… was supposed to be fast,” Michelle furiously whispers, limping along with him to the bathroom, “What the hell happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter lets out a laugh that sounds watery, Michelle instantly struck with fear for what that could mean as he says, “I’m sticky, not f-fast.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. Eyes up, Parker,” Michelle says firmly, ignoring the way her voice wavers as Peter grows even more unsteady on his feet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine, I’m—“ Peter hisses in pain, the two of them stumbling towards the bathroom as Michelle’s heart starts to race.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> fine, don’t give me that bullshit. You’ve lied to me enough,” Michelle says harshly, half-frustrated and half-terrified as she less than gracefully deposits Peter in the tub.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter for his part doesn’t put up much of a fight, though if that’s because of the pool of red coming from his side or the sting of Michelle’s words - she doesn’t know.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Michelle takes a deep breath, frantically scanning around the bathroom as she rifles through the cabinets, muttering to herself as she looks for a better first aid kit then whatever Peter had managed to find in the kitchen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All the while, Michelle’s heart is pounding so hard it feels like thunder - barely hearing Peter’s voice above it as he gasps, “I’ll be fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really? Cause you look like a fucking Jackson Pollack painting right now,” Michelle whispers, glancing back to Peter as she grabs the hydrogen peroxide.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He waves a hand, grimacing in pain as he sits up. “Don’t bother, it won’t work.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Michelle pauses, looking down to the bottle in her hand then back to Peter - watching as he tries to adjust himself to a more comfortable position, hand pressed down to the wound on his side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What doesn’t work?” She asks carefully, wishing now that she’d paid any kind of attention to superheroes over the years as Peter nods towards the bottle in her hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The medicine, it won’t— it won’t work.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then what are we supposed to—“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get the sewing kit,” Peter says, closing his eyes in obvious pain, “I can heal, I just— just gotta help it out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Michelle feels confused - a sensation she’s wholly unused to as she stares at Peter, feeling like she was seeing him for the first time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There are so many things about him now - about his friendship with Ned, about both Ned and Betty’s casual acceptance of him, of May’s redirection earlier today and all the instances where he’d dipped out for seemingly no reason.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A wave of guilt washes over her for judging him so harshly in all the years she’s known him only to be squashed down with anger - motivated in part by her pride but also the fury that Peter had pushed to take care of EJ with her while holding back an entire part of his life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rather than confront him about it now, Michelle just presses her lips together - walking out of the bathroom and towards the kitchen, back to the open sewing kit that Peter had left behind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It occurs to her then, the reason behind Betty’s switch up - wondering how many times before that Peter had done this, not just in his life but in Ned and Betty’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>home</span>
  </em>
  <span> - a lump forming in her throat at the sense of betrayal nagging at her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Michelle tries to swallow it down as she grabs the sewing kit, straightening her shoulders as she makes her way back to the bathroom. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her and Betty had told each other everything, or so she thought - yet there’s a part of Michelle that can recognize that this wasn’t her secret to tell. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Betty was also gone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And despite the conflict of emotions that she feels at the moment, Michelle can’t bring herself to be upset with her - not when Peter’s alive and right in front of her, gripping the sewing kit a little tighter as she makes her way back to the bathroom.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Michelle wakes up with a start, blinking around her bedroom as her cell phone goes off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was Saturday, she could at least be thankful for that - glancing out to the sunshine streaming in through the window as she pops a crick in her neck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Michelle feels disoriented for a moment as she looks around, trying to remember how she got there only for everything from the night before to come rushing back to her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sits up a little too fast, scrambling to get out of bed and opening the door - only to pause when she hears Peter and EJ in the kitchen, the latter babbling excitedly as Peter sing-songs some pop song that annoyed her anytime she heard it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Michelle considers whether or not she could creep in on them and listen in, only for Peter to call out in the same tune as the song, “Hey Michelle, good morning.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She freezes for a half-beat, only to remember that Peter was </span>
  <em>
    <span>Spider-Man</span>
  </em>
  <span> - wondering just what the hell kind of powers he had to sense that she was in the hallway as she walks towards the kitchen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The whole kitchen is a mess, a failed attempt at what looks like pancakes all over the stove and the kitchen counter tops - batter and flour not only all over Peter but EJ too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>EJ looks blithely unaware of the mess, slapping his hands against the high chair table as Peter looks to Michelle - a tired grin on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, we made pancakes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see that,” Michelle says carefully, looking around for any traces of last night’s adventures only to find none.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Stitching up Peter in the bathroom in tense silence hadn’t been the way she’d anticipated ending her night, Peter awkwardly telling her that he would be fine as she stared at him with some uncertainty. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before she could say anything that she would regret - something that Michelle never would’ve considered before but </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to considering they now lived in the same house and had custody of a child - she’d left for bed, scouring the internet for anything she could find about Spider-Man before she’d apparently passed out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her information search had given her next to nothing and now, standing in the middle of a kitchen that looked like a disaster zone, Michelle could only wonder if this was Peter’s attempt towards an apology.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You want some? I think we still have some batter,” he says, gesturing towards a half cup of batter that Michelle didn’t trust for a second.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m fine,” she says tersely, her annoyance from last night coming back in full force as Peter’s face falls - only for it to harden as he says, “Michelle--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to talk.” She interjects, looking at Peter meaningfully before staring at EJ. “But not now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter snorts, an aggravating sound as he says, “It’s not like he can understand us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not about </span>
  <em>
    <span>understanding</span>
  </em>
  <span>, it’s about volume,” Michelle says evenly, Peter’s eyes widening for a bit as she looks to EJ. “I don’t want to argue in front of him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, arguing in front of kids is actually really healthy for--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t give me that shit about </span>
  <em>
    <span>healthy</span>
  </em>
  <span> for kids, Peter,” Michelle snaps, fury coursing through her veins, “Not when you’re the one swinging around in front of bullets every night.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something passes over Peter’s eyes just then, his expression hardening once more as Michelle says, “I’m gonna shower. I need… I need some time to think.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think we need to--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What you need and what I need are two entirely different things,” Michelle says firmly. “You clearly thought that this,” she gestures vaguely towards him, “wasn’t a big enough deal to share before we got legally tied up together.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter winces at that as Michelle presses forward, “So forgive me if I need just a one fucking day to think about things.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter looks at a loss for words, rightfully chastised - only for her to see an argument building behind his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yet before he gets the chance to speak, Michelle walks over to press a kiss to EJ’s forward and then exits out of the kitchen - walking towards the bathroom.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Michelle turns off her cell phone the minute she leaves the house, something she knows is petty but can’t bring herself to care about in the first place.</p><p>
  <span>She spends the day meandering around New York - going to her favorite bookstores, grabbing lunch at her favorite cafe, all the while trying to wrestle with the second largest bombshell to obliterate her life in less than a month. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ned and Betty clearly knew that Peter was Spider-Man, the sting of that betrayal still hurting in a way that Michelle rationally knows that it can’t. She can’t be mad at Betty, not only because she’s gone but because Michelle knows better than anyone that Betty was an excellent secret keeper - one of the most trustworthy, dependable people she’d ever met. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What am I supposed to do now, B?</span>
  </em>
  <span> She thinks to herself as the afternoon sun casts a shadow over the city, feeling anxious as she makes her way back home. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This whole thing had been irrational and rushed - a wrench in all the life plans that Michelle had ever created for herself. Now with the addition of a superhero co-parent, all Michelle can focus on is all the terrible ways that this could go wrong - even more frustrated at Peter and his lie of omission. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Michelle had never paid much attention to the world of the Avengers, not anymore than she needed to considering half the shit they got into ended up bringing about potentially world-ending destruction. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’d debated about the Sokovia Accords in high school, had written reports and served as a delegate in Model UN events in college. What she could’ve never expected was the idea that not only would she </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> a superpowered being but that she’d known him for years - every instance of Spider-Man that she’d heard about over the years coming back to memory.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of all the heroes, Spider-Man had always seemed to be the most decent - down to earth and committed to sticking to the streets of New York in a way that none of the others seemed to. A secret part of Michelle could admire that, even if conflicted with the person that she’d known Peter to be - wondering now just how true that person really was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It even made sense now, why Peter turned down his position with Stark Industries - considering the public refusal that Spider-Man had made in wanting to be linked up with the Avengers in the first place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There are so many things that Michelle wants to know now, even if there’s still a flicker of anger in the back of her mind - trying to wrestle with the feeling of betrayal she has for being suckered into something she didn’t ask for twice over while also recognizing that from Peter’s perspective, he would have no reason to trust her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They barely even tolerated being in the same room together up until a few weeks ago. Spider-Man, someone who had kept to himself and out of the spotlight save for the Bugle’s incessant trash-talking, wasn’t exactly the kind of thing that Peter could arguably talk to her about when they didn’t like talking about anything at all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she makes her way back to the house, it occurs to her that Peter truly had to either be a glutton for a punishment or a genius - freelancing as a photographer for the very same newspaper that tore his secret identity to shreds. In another life, Michelle would almost think of it as funny - even if she was still a little too pissed off to admit that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’s barely up the threshold of the fence of the house when the door swings open, Peter looking at her with a panicked expression as he says, “Where the hell have you been?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Michelle frowns, ready to tear into him when she hears a voice call out from inside, “Is that Ms. Jones?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Michelle’s stomach drops, looking back to Peter in confusion as he yells, “Yes ma’am, she’ll be right up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She walks up the stairs, Peter whispering to her, “It’s the social worker.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Michelle whispers back, eyes widening as she glares at Peter, “Why didn’t you--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I tried calling you like fifty times. I didn’t realize they were coming until an hour ago and it’s not like I could just leave EJ here and swing--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do we do?” Michelle whispers back, as they walk over the threshold of the house. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Act natural?” Peter says questiongly, Michelle glaring at him only for her face to transform into a smile when she looks over to where the social worker is.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Michelle was still reeling from the last twelve hours, the time she’d spent to herself not giving her any sense of closure of certainty of what to do. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she was convinced of one thing more than anything else - the only thing she’d held on to in the weeks since Betty had died. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’d be damned if anyone took EJ away from her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If she had to fake like nothing had happened to pull that off, Michelle would be the best damn actress that this social worker had ever seen. </span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And how has this been for the two of you?” Susie asks, glancing at the two of them over her glasses. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Susie was by all accounts nice and friendly, good at her job for the depth of questions that she had about EJ, their living arrangements and the transition to becoming guardians.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter had already given her a house tour, placating Michelle’s absence as taking a walk around the neighborhood - a part of her wondering what would’ve happened if she hadn’t come home when she did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Michelle hadn’t dwelled on it, feeling as if everything she did or said was under a microscope - communicating silently with Peter as best as she could for how to play this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>To pretend like they were actually getting along would only backfire but to tell the truth and give how much they were arguing seemed like a trap - Michelle wondering if there was some kind of loophole that would allow the social worker to take EJ away from them just as quickly as he’d been given. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Michelle goes for neutral honesty as she says, “It’s been… an adjustment. But we’re doing the best we can.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Peter says a little too eagerly, Michelle shooting him a look, “we’ve known each other for years but never uh, lived together.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you two had a romantic relationship prior to this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no absolutely not,” Peter answers quickly, Michelle shaking her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, not at all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Susie looks at the two of them, eyes narrowing before clicking the butt of her pen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to be play it with you straight okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Michelle freezes, feeling Peter tense beside her as Susie closes her notebook. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You two seem to have made do with tragic circumstances. The home is baby-proofed and you have all the essentials. Legally, Mr. and Mrs. Leeds designated you as the guardians which makes paperwork easier.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She laughs, Michelle not particularly appreciating the sense of humor as Susie continues, “It’s in the best interest of the state to keep Edward Jr. in the hands of those who would be the best in caring for him. The only obstacle here for you two is whether or not you’re both cut out to be parents.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Susie looks at them more sympathetically then before glancing over to EJ, asleep in his pack and play as she says, “What we want to avoid is EJ losing more people he’s close to. Your friends thought you could do this but I’ll be honest, I’m not so sure.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” Michelle asks, seeing Peter rub his hands over his thighs as Susie sighs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been at this job for a very long time. I know people, I know how to read them.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looks at them pointedly, pushing her glasses back as she says, “For as long as you two have claimed to know each other, you act as if you’re strangers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Michelle glances to Peter, seeing the panicked expression in his eyes once more as she turns back to Susie, ready to defend herself only for Susie to put a hand up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever lie or excuse you have, I’m not interested in it. To be frank, I don’t care about your personal problems. What I do care about,” Susie levels them with a stare, looking pointedly over to EJ before staring back at the two of them, “is that the home you’ve created for EJ remains safe, stable and an environment that he can thrive in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She lets the words hang in the air - Michelle hearing the threat and the meaning in them without her having to explain. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Susie nods, going to stand as Peter and Michelle both stand together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be back for two more checks in the next month, one planned and one not.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter and Michelle follow her towards the door as Susie sighs. “Look, it’s clear you two cared about your friends and care about EJ. But you have to ask yourself,” she turns back to Michelle - eyes dancing between her and Peter - before saying, “What is the best thing for EJ in this situation?” </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Me</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Michelle silently thinks - only to immediately question the validity of that statement considering how woefully unprepared she feels for all of this - inwardly cringing at how childish her outburst had been today, leaving both Peter and EJ to collect her thoughts when the more mature thing would’ve been to sit down and talk about what happened. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hindsight may be twenty/twenty but Michelle swallows down the uncomfortable feeling in her throat, recognizing that while she could make mistakes as a single person - anything she did now had double the consequences.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’d never had to think outside of herself before now, relishing in the singleness and childless existence that she’d so freely chosen for herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Michelle shares a look with Peter, seeing his expression shift as he looks lost in his own thoughts - wondering if he was thinking of his own late night activities. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be in touch,” Susie says, breaking the silence before giving them both a gentle smile. “Have a good night.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Michelle and Peter both say their goodbyes, Peter shutting the door behind her before his shoulders sag - sighing loudly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Michelle waits for him to turn, Peter looking at her with an unreadable expression on his face before he bites his lip, standing up a little straighter as he says, “We need to talk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Michelle nods, locking eyes with Peter. “We do.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Bet you thought I'd forgotten about this one. I haven't! Just trying to time it right for spideychelle week. </p><p>Enemies to friends to lovers babey~</p><p>
  <strike>even if it's a little slow going for these two</strike>
</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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